Elle Ruffner has joined the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers (CSIF) as their 2026 communications intern.

Ruffner will assist with CSIF’s statewide mission of supporting Iowa’s farmers, as well as helping with CSIF’s social media management, event coordination, and industry partnership relations.

In her new role, Hanlon will communicate the Coalition’s mission and services by sharing the success stories of Iowa farm families who have grown their livestock farms successfully and responsibly using on-farm best management practices. She will also support the Coalition’s outreach efforts by developing content that highlights CSIF’s commitment to helping farm families navigate the opportunities and challenges of livestock production.

ICA Leads on CRP Reform at NCBA Summer Business Meeting

A lack of available forage land is pushing some cattle groups to look for ways to make existing Conservation Reserve Program acres easier for producers to graze, a shift that could give ranchers room to expand a historically small cattle herd.

Some state livestock groups, including the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and Kansas Livestock Association, want to enable producers to graze more CRP land amid a scarcity of available forage, and to better incentivize landowners to let them.

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Secretary Naig Launches Greater Des Moines Watershed Program, Announces Enhanced Cover Crop Cost-Share in 22 Counties

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced the launch of the Greater Des Moines Watershed Program, a targeted initiative to accelerate and scale up the use of conservation practices across 22 counties upstream from the Des Moines metro. It will support a series of conservation incentives, cost-share and targeted investments to improve water quality upstream and downstream.

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